Fourth Written Assignment (totaling 20% of the final grade) The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to describe an individual you deem to be an excellent example of leadership in one or more diverse cultures. You may choose to describe an example of how the individual enhances or facilitates diversity, OR how well he/she represents a diverse culture or cultures in the exercise of leadership. You may select a person from the past as the subject of the paper. The essay should include a brief biographical sketch of the individual you select, and information from the readings, mini-lectures, videos, or other sources you choose, to support your opinion.The essay should be a minimum of 4 typed, double-spaced pages. Due on March 15th. Incorporate this question in the answer to this question What are the elements of these societal units that leaders should consider, when planning efforts to initiate, foster or value diversity? Mini Lecture : Week 8 Mini-Lecture: Diversity Leadership in Community and Societal Contexts This lecture focuses on what leaders in communities and societies, including nations, must know in leading diversity in those contexts. Some of us continue to be surprised at how “leaders” continue to forget, ignore, hope to avoid, several important influences on the process of leading diversity in these contexts. Just in the last two years we have seen U. S. state executives try to defend behaviors in their personal histories that negatively affected their credibility in the conduct of their offices. And this observation comes from significant and sustained media attention. What about those leaders in cities, areas of cities and communities about whom we do not hear, but who fail to see how personal histories may affect their work, as well as histories of communities, about which they may, or may not, be familiar. In the U. S. House of Representatives elections, candidates often try to ascertain the issues of interest to their congressional districts. Of course, depending on where that district is, it may include multiple counties of a large number of people (west Texas) or those concentrated within a few miles of each other (large urban settings). There are different kinds of communities, such as individuals who share the same religion but worship in different locations in the same city; individuals over 65 in a retirement village; people who are in a food co-op; and members of the same ethnicity in a neighborhood, as is the case in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, where immigrants from the same country settled together. The communities on which I’m focusing are those which people are in by choice. Among such groups, what are the components that affect diversity leadership? A. History: There are some ethnic communities that have welcomed “new” members of other ethnicities, and there are others that preferred to be closed societies. In some neighborhoods within cities, both real esta ...

1. Fourth Written Assignment (totaling 20% of the final
grade)
The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to
describe an individual you deem to be an excellent example of
leadership in one or more diverse cultures. You may choose to
describe an example of how the individual enhances or
facilitates diversity, OR how well he/she represents a diverse
culture or cultures in the exercise of leadership. You may
select a person from the past as the subject of the paper. The
essay should include a brief biographical sketch of the
individual you select, and information from the readings, mini -
lectures, videos, or other sources you choose, to support your
opinion.The essay should be a minimum of 4 typed, double-
spaced pages.
Due on March 15th.
Incorporate this question in the answer to this question
What are the elements of these societal units that leaders should
consider, when planning efforts to initiate, foster or value
diversity?
Mini Lecture : Week 8 Mini-Lecture: Diversity Leadership in
Community and Societal Contexts
This lecture focuses on what leaders in communities and
societies, including nations, must know in leading diversity in
those contexts. Some of us continue to be surprised at how
“leaders” continue to forget, ignore, hope to avoid, several
important influences on the process of leading diversity in these
contexts. Just in the last two years we have seen U. S. state
executives try to defend behaviors in their personal histories
that negatively affected their credibility in the conduct of their
offices. And this observation comes from significant and

2. sustained media attention. What about those leaders in cities,
areas of cities and communities about whom we do not hear, but
who fail to see how personal histories may affect their work, as
well as histories of communities, about which they may, or may
not, be familiar. In the U. S. House of Representatives
elections, candidates often try to ascertain the issues of interest
to their congressional districts. Of course, depending on where
that district is, it may include multiple counties of a large
number of people (west Texas) or those concentrated within a
few miles of each other (large urban settings). There are
different kinds of communities, such as individuals who share
the same religion but worship in different locations in the same
city; individuals over 65 in a retirement village; people who are
in a food co-op; and members of the same ethnicity in a
neighborhood, as is the case in New York City, Chicago, San
Francisco, where immigrants from the same country settled
together. The communities on which I’m focusing are those
which people are in by choice. Among such groups, what are
the components that affect diversity leadership?
A. History: There are some ethnic communities that have
welcomed “new” members of other ethnicities, and there are
others that preferred to be closed societies. In some
neighborhoods within cities, both real estate agents and
homeowners tried to keep out people because of race or
ethnicity. In some U.S. urban communities in the 1800s,
immigrants were discriminated against in terms of rental or
purchase of housing. Some cities, in the 1960s, passed fair
housing ordinances to prevent discrimination against possible
home owners in residential communities. Individuals who
wished to live in desegregated areas used these laws as
backdrops to create welcome baskets, parties, parades and other
events welcoming new groups of people into the areas. History
is a strong influence on people; individuals feel defined by
familial, community, and national history. Such histories are
powerful influences on the leadership of diversity.
B. Complexity: Diversity, as well as size, creates complexity in

3. organizations and communities. When there are multiple types
of individuals, of different ages, genders, races and ethnicities,
financial backgrounds and education levels, position
descriptions and salaries, then any change effort, including
leading diversity, becomes complex. Comparatively speaking,
it’s much easier to facilitate employee diversity in a small, mom
and pop, store. For some people, complexity is anxiety-
producing. For others, it’s a welcome challenge. For leaders, it
should be one factor among several for which one plans a
program of change. Indeed, some of the best leaders of
societies, communities and organizations have the ability to be
adaptable to the forces of complexity. They tolerate ambiguity
and uncertainty with the ability to be versatile in working with
a variety of countervailing influences. They do not fear dealing
with creative tensions, walking tightropes between rocks and
hard places. Add the challenge of championing diversity, and
leaders also must deal with possible attitudes of anger, fear, and
negativism. The larger and more hierarchical an organization,
the larger and more diverse a community and a society are, the
more complex it is. And the greater the effect when it fosters
diversity.
C. Economic health: The more money, people, and space a
leader has at her disposal, the more resources there are available
to put toward a change effort, the more successful that effort is
apt to be. Fostering diversity is a change effort. A community
that has sufficient funds, (if one exists!), will not have to worry
about choosing diversification over other community needs. No
other initiative will be put on the back burner for lack of
funding. No other program will be ended or paused because of
a lack of funds. Most leaders, however, almost always face
insufficient funds with which to work. If a leader decides to
put scarce resources into attempts to bring new and different
individuals into a community, e.g. a retirement community, a
neighborhood, a small but growing town, then using those
resources to create diversity, of whatever type, may require a
leader’s advocacy for the decision.

4. D. Core values and beliefs: We don’t always think about a
community’s core values and beliefs—the specifics of what it
stands for, appreciates, and holds as overarching guideposts.
That’s because leaders in communities don’t necessarily think
about a community’s values…just its needs. Elected political
leaders have a sense of what their constituents think is
important, from a needs point of view. And, the values of the
community members, e.g. importance of the environment,
importance of health care, the need to reduce taxes, and the
need to bring better jobs to the area to enhance economic
growth for the next generation, sometimes are assessed via
political polls or independent surveys. Otherwise, leaders go by
what they are told by individuals anecdotally, or in town hall
meetings, or letters to the editor of the local newspaper. If you
are an individual, part of a team, or one of many individuals
working to enhance diversity in your community, then
enhancing/valuing/fostering diversity, of any type, should be a
core value of the community. If it is not a core belief, as you
begin your work, then the community’s leadership are
responsible, through words and actions, of embedding
“diversity” as a core value. It is preferable to be in a community
of people who already value differences among others, or the
uniqueness of individuals, because changing beliefs and values
can take many years and multiple efforts.
E. Form of governance: The reason it is important to consider
form of governance when planning the leadership of diversity is
because governance can have influence and/or control over
diversity leadership strategies. If you are a homeowners
association trying to increase racial and ethnic diversity in your
neighborhood, you want to use that association as part of a
strategy. If you are a community governed by a city council,
that council needs to be part of a strategy to
enhance/increase/promote diversity in the community. If you
are in a community that puts responsibility for change efforts,
including diversification, in a hired manager, e.g. an assisted
living development, that individual will need to be a major part

5. of the effort, although not the only component. Forms of
governance have credibility among those in their communities.
They have influence, and if the form of governance is not
aligned with community members’ expectations, values and
beliefs, and priorities for actions, the leadership of diversity is
disadvantaged from the beginning. Change efforts of any kind
require buy-in from community members, but the governance
structure or system must be supportive of the change effort.
Many organizational change efforts have been defeated before
they began because leaders overseeing the effort, in charge of
the effort, only paid lip service to the effort. They were half-
hearted in support of the change, and that lack of attention,
focus or commitment cost the organization a successful change,
whether it was the launch of a new product, the merger with
another organization, expansion into a new geographical area,
or the adoption of a new technology.
F. Goals: Knowing the goals of a community is critical to the
leadership of diversity. Why? Because leaders, as individuals,
as a team, or as a loosely-organized group of members, need to
understand the priorities that guide the very work of the
community. Leading diversity must be one of the stated goals
of the community if it is to be successful. Yet, any community
has multiple goals, and what they are may affect the resources
available for diversity leadership. In for-profit and non-profit
organizations, attempts at enhancing/increasing diversity among
employees historically has been affected by resource
availability. Working toward better productivity, financial
controls, salaries, marketing, are just some of the goals many
organizations have prioritized over diversity efforts. If “extra”
money was available, it might be assigned to these efforts. In
communities, lower taxes, lower utilities costs, improved road
safety and law enforcement are sometimes selected as priorities
over fostering diversity, of any type, into the area. Not only is
diversity leadership needed as a goal if it is a leadership
priority, it is needed as a core value and belief. Not all types of
communities have planned goals…yet any community is

6. enhanced by having shared goals. Knowing what those are is an
important leadership task.
G. Geography: Where you are in the world does matter.
Communities on the coast of Florida facing “the red tide” of
dead and dying fish and sea creatures are affected by their
location. Communities in tornado alley in Texas, Oklahoma
and beyond must consider this weather phenomenon every year
in their budgets. We have seen how communities in certain parts
of California are affected by proximity to forests…which are
increasingly on fire. Communities in urban areas may face
overcrowding..but also are close to resources, unlike the Desert
Southwest which is looking at dwindling water supplies.
Communities that develop around home purchases pay very
large property taxes if they are in cities that are becoming more
popular, and populous, due to in-migration. If diversity
leadership is a community’s goal, or priority, where that
community is may be an influence on that process. Why?
Because location affects types and availability of natural and
man-made resources, as well as transportation availability and
types, the physical climate of the area, and the socio-emotional
climate of the people. If all of these influences on the
community are generally positive, the work toward its goals
also will be generally positive. That being the case, the
leadership of diversity will be a positive process, situated in a
physical context that enhances, rather than detracts from, the
pursuit of the community’s goals.